When I bought SHS.com, I did so under the assumption that I could profitably sell the domain name to a company or startup that uses that acronym. I figured that if I fail to draw interest from an end user buyer, I could find another investor who would be interested in buying  the domain name for a longer hold. In the meantime, my brother used the domain name for his website.

I understand why short numeric and letter domain names have value.

Short numeric (2, 3, 4, and even 5 number) domain names are easy to remember, and they are especially popular for websites in China. Numeric domain names are generally legally “safe” to own. I don’t recall seeing a numeric domain name lost in a UDRP, and I can’t recall any cybersquatting lawsuits related to numeric domain names (correct me if I am wrong, please). They are in limited supply, and there has been demand for 4 numbers and under .com domain names for as long as I can recall.

Short letter .com domain names also make sense, although there can be more legal risk associated with owning them. The legal risk aside, I see many companies and organizations using 2, 3, and 4 letter .com domain names for their businesses. Short letter domain names are easy to remember, can be good for marketing, and are great for shortening what could be a longer domain name if the full company name was used.

For these short numeric and letter domain names, I understand

If a startup uses a “hack” or some other creatively spelled domain name because the correct spelling is previously registered, the owner of the correctly spelled domain name is NOT a cybersquatter! I don’t care how popular a startup becomes, if the domain owner had his domain name first, it is NOT cybersquatting! The only way it may become cybersquatting is if the domain owner later monetizes the domain name in a manner that infringes on the marks of the startup (as long as it is not descriptive).

I understand that some startups and companies cannot afford to spend a lot of money for a domain name. It is perfectly acceptable to be creative when it comes to branding. However, they can not and should not expect to build a brand on a confusing domain name and be able to get the previously registered exact match domain name for anything less than fair market value. Using the legal system or UDRP system to try and “steal” a domain name is reverse domain name hijacking.

I also understand that some people do not

Buying a domain name with a partner or group of partners can have advantages such as lower acquisition cost and reduced risk, but there are also some unique issues that can present themselves. Many of these issues can be mitigated by discussing them before buying a domain name with a partner, and I thought I would share some of them for your consideration.

I think it is important to use a contract when buying or selling a domain name, but a general purchase agreement covers the sale and probably not the partnership. I think it is important for partners to have some sort of partnership agreement in place when they buy a domain name together.

Some of the issues that can come up include: